Roberto Azevedo, Brazil's Ambassador, Becomes First Latino Leader Of WTO

A diplomatic source said Tuesday that Roberto Azevedo will be named head of the World Trade Organization after defeating Mexico's Herminio Blanco.

Azevedo will be the first Latino head of the organization since its founding in 1995.

A formal announcement is expected Wednesday after the decision was made at a closed-door meeting with Pakistan's WTO representative Shahid Bashir, who leads the Governing General Council, the Telegraph reported.

The race attracted 9 candidates--the largest in recent years--with 7 dropping early, leaving Azevedo and Blanco in contention for the duration of the 6 months the contest lasted.

Sources told Reuters that while Blanco had a slightly wider margin of approval among the European Union, Azevedo supersceded him due to higher support among the WTO's 159 members.

Current WTO head, Pascal Lamy of France, is expected to step down Sept. 1 after two 4-year terms.

Azevedo will get off to a quick start as he will be appointed just before the WTO's biennial ministerial meeting, which will take place in Bali in December.

This means he faces the WTO's current challenge of spearheading the rebirth of the Doha Round, a series of liberalization talks that began in 2001 and sank shortly therafter as the organization struggled to come up with an agreement with Bali.

Azevedo is expected to be openly declared winner May 14.